Swift Action From Lansing Public Transit Was Right Thing to Do

Last week, BTL and media partner City Pulse reported on the experiences of Lansing resident Diane and the Capital Area Transportation Authority. It was a mess of bathroom indignities loaded over with bureaucratic snafus.
But CATA responded properly, and promptly. Not only did they immediately address Diane's concerns — and apologize to her — they issued a directive to staff at the transportation center in Lansing. Said directive ordered staff to allow people to use the bathroom of their gender identity without discussion of said individual's gender identity.
It seems like a simple thing to do. But for the transgender community and the gender nonconforming community, this was a massive move in the right direction. It acknowledged the fundamental reality that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
This action did not happen in a vacuum however. Behind the scenes, East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett, who has been a tireless ally to the LGBT community and who serves on the Board of Directors for CATA, worked directly with staff at the agency to address the situation as soon as it was brought to his attention. Amy Hunter, who works with both the ACLU of Michigan and Equality Michigan, also worked with staff at CATA to assure the language of the directives was clear and affirmative. Lansing officials have also moved quickly to make sure complaints about potential discrimination and violations of the city's human rights ordinance do not fall through the cracks again.
CATA should be commended for its fast, careful response and its affirmation that everyone matters.